The best way to convince your friends and family that you’re a strong home cook – even if you’re just a novice – is to take an ordinary salad and turn it into masterpiece with a tasty homemade salad dressing.
In its simplest form, a homemade vinaigrette is made with oil and vinegar.
Beyond these basics, most vinaigrette today are flavored with citrus, herbs or spices.
When you make your own salad dressing, you’re the one calling the shots and you can use whatever you like to create a tasty dressing that won’t be too heavy on any one particular flavor – unless of course, you like it that way.
When you’re making your own vinaigrette, whether it’ for an instant salad dressing or a keep a few simple tips in mind.
Use a mild oil
When you’re making vinaigrette, try not to pick an oil that will overpower your dressing. Start with an oil that has little flavor, like olive oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil or vegetable oil. The majority of the flavor will come from your vinegar. Which brings me to my next point…
Choose a flavorful vinegar
Opt for the best quality that you can afford. The higher the quality, the less you’ll need to flavor your dressing. Red wine, white wine, apple cider and balsamic vinegar are all great options and you can mix and match them to create different flavors.
Be creative
I know this sounds like a platitude in cooking, but you really can take creative liberties when it comes to vinaigrette. For example: if you’re making an Italian meal, select some fresh garlic, along with oregano and basil for an delicious dressing.
Add fresh herbs — thyme, chives, basil and parsley are all good additions to salad dressing. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some roughly chopped basil goes a long way to brighten up a salad.
Emulsify
If that word sounds like something you learned in tenth grade chemistry, you’re not completely wrong. When you’re ready to create your vinaigrette, mix the vinegar and any liquids except the oil, with your herbs. Do this by hand or with a food processor.
Once this step is complete, add the oil to emulsify. One way to do this is to whisk your vinegar + herb mixture while slowly drizzling the oil into your mixture. You can also process in a food processor or blender, drizzling the oil in slowly as you pulse or process.
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 heaping teaspoon honey
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds or until a creamy emulsion begins to form. You can also do this step by hand using a whisk or hand mixer.
- Taste and if the dressing feels too heavy on your tongue, add more vinegar, a teaspoon at a time, until the balance tastes right to you. If you have leftover dressing keep it in the fridge for up to three days, shaking well before each re-use.
34 Comments
Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Parmesan and Pecans
April 24, 2013 at 7:28 pm[…] and buy a bag of pre-shredded) 1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese 1/4 cup chopped pecan halves 1/4 cup homemade vinaigrette (or store-bought, I won’t be in your kitchen judging […]
kelsey @ un-american in france
June 13, 2011 at 3:05 amMmm! When I was in Le Mans, my friend Emilie showed me how she makes vinaigrette – balsamic, dijon mustard, and oil. I’ve been addicted to it ever since! I put it on everything and lately I’ve changed it up to a bit: dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, balsamic (nix the oil). I put it on a really random pasta salad yesterday and it was heavenly (whole wheat rotini, tuna, cannellini beans, chopped beet).
Michelle @ A Voracious Appetite
June 10, 2011 at 9:06 pmYou make it sounds so easy! I’m going to try this soon 🙂
The Food Hunter
June 8, 2011 at 10:17 pma good vinaigrette is a great thing to know how to make. thanks for sharing.
Samantha @ Bikini Birthday
June 6, 2011 at 2:49 pmCompletely agree with the point about vinegar. I got some amazing balsamic vinegar from my brother in law at Christmas that was sweet and not too tart. It made me want to eat salad all the time just so I had an excuse to use the vinegar.
NancyC
June 5, 2011 at 5:37 pmThanks for the tips! I love vinaigrette–this recipe sounds really good and so easy!
Rosa
June 3, 2011 at 11:20 pmLovely tips! I love vinaigrette and always try to be creative. Yours sounds wonderful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Sawsan@chef in disguise
June 3, 2011 at 8:18 pmThose are really helpful tips…I totally agree with you on the fact that a good dressing can transform a salad and take it to the next level..
I really love experimenting with dressings and will definitely try yours soon
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets
June 3, 2011 at 4:27 pmGreat tips! Thanks for this post — dressing is one of those things I know there’s no need to pay so much money for (plus all the emulsifiers and other additives) but keep being too lazy to make myself.
Mika
June 3, 2011 at 2:47 pmYour post about vinaigrettes is so much better than mine…Great tips… ^_^
jessica
June 3, 2011 at 11:44 amOkay, this is what I love about your how to posts. I think I know everything about beer or wine or springforms pans and then you still teach me more. I love being taught and learning new things when it comes to food and the kitchen. Vinaigrette is truly so easy and you just made it look and sound even easier and so incredible. Can’t wait to try your version!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
June 3, 2011 at 11:36 amYou know, you’re quite right. Whenever I make a dressing people seem to be really impressed by the fact that it doesn’t come bought from a bottle!
McKayla @ Green Groats
June 3, 2011 at 10:49 amGreat tips! I need to emulsify with herbs and vinegar more often. I think the word just scared me off in the past…haha.
Jamie
June 3, 2011 at 10:45 amLiving in France, I began making homemade vinaigrette over 20 years ago but reading your post I realize I make the same basic recipe (the one you have) every time. I need to reread your advice and change it! New flavors, herbs, oils. Thanks for the inspiration!
Roz
June 3, 2011 at 3:33 amHome made vinegarette makes ANY plain salad taste better!!! Thanks for sharing Maris! Have a great day.
The Harried Cook
June 3, 2011 at 7:17 amGreat post! I love homemade vinaigrette… awesome tips! Thanks for sharing, Maris 🙂
Sherilyn
June 3, 2011 at 6:36 amI absolutely love a beautiful homemade dressing. It is simplicity at its best!
Tanvi@SinfullySpicy
June 3, 2011 at 6:16 amI do not like buying dressings from the market…they mostly dont suit my liking.These are such fab tips!
yummychunklet
June 3, 2011 at 5:28 amGreat post. I recently started making my own vinaigrettes at home, so these tips were helpful!
Bee
June 3, 2011 at 4:05 amThank you! I’ll definitely use this, my usual dressing choices are feeling kind of bleh and very high calorie. I also need a good use for the bottle of balsamic vinegar with truffle flavor since buying it for my burger experiment!
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective
June 3, 2011 at 3:25 amWe always make our dressings. They have such a fresher taste. 🙂
Tara @ Chip Chip Hooray
June 3, 2011 at 2:50 amThis sounds delicious! I’ve been wondering how to mix it up a little from my standard, boring (store-bought) vinaigrette, and this will be so helpful.
One question, though (for Maris or any helpful chef here), because I’m a real newbie to this sort of thing–where does the shallot mentioned in step 1 come in on the ingredient list? Is that another name for something I’m not familiar with? I thought shallots were like onions, kind of…
Maris Callahan
June 3, 2011 at 2:59 amHi Tara! I sent you an email but that was an error on my part and it’s been corrected.
Lisa @ Tarte du Jour
June 3, 2011 at 2:08 amI won’t ever use a bottled dressing… it’s so easy to whip up your own. I really like the honey in your vinaigrette! Nice post!
Lisa from Lisas Yarns
June 3, 2011 at 2:02 amI winged it and made my own vinaigrette when I was in Paris in February. It was SO good. Then I used an actual recipe when I was having dinner at my aunt’s on mother’s day. It was so simple and so delicious. And it took minimal effort!
Tasha
June 3, 2011 at 1:48 amIt is so true that a simple, homemade vinaigrette just seems to impress people who are only used to storebought bottled dressings. I will have to try using both red wine and balsamic vinegars in my next vinaigrette- I have always used one or the other.
Lauren at Keep It Sweet
June 3, 2011 at 1:28 amHomemade salad dressing is just so much better tasting that store-bought. This recipe is the perfect base and I love that you have a little honey in it!
The Waspy Redhead
June 3, 2011 at 12:55 amThis is a great recipe for classic vinaigrette (which as a sidebar, is one of the words I struggle with spelling most often in life). I have a trick for making a small batch – use an empty glass spice jar (like the McCormick ones we all have in the pantry). You can drop all the ingredients in, then it is super easy to shake because it’s so small. You can use what you need, then store the rest in the fridge. Just shake it up again when you use it out of the fridge because it will separate.
Caroline
June 2, 2011 at 11:39 pmI love making homemade dressings. They’re much lighter (and healthier, of course) than the typical heavy ranch dressing. I make a lemon vinaigrette often and use it for salad, chicken, bread, anything! It’s super versatile.
Lauren@LittleYellowKitchen
June 2, 2011 at 11:24 pmI love using my immersion blender for dressings, it works great for getting that creamy texture.
Lucy
June 2, 2011 at 10:25 pmThank you for this simple recipe! I need to get better about making my own dressings.
Nami @ Just One Cookbook
June 2, 2011 at 9:34 pmHi Maris, I love your post. Most people buy all kinds of dressing (look at the supermarket shelf…), but I really enjoy simple dressing like this. We can actually taste the salad, the original ingredient, and I’d love to have a collection of simple dressing like this. I make similar one but without red wine vinegar, so of course this recipe will go into my folder. 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
Nicole@HeatOvenTo350
June 2, 2011 at 8:55 pmWhat great advice! Homemade vinaigrette really is amazing, and can be so simple.
Erica
June 2, 2011 at 8:45 pmI agree and I LOVE a good vinaigrette! Great recipe